If the sales tax in your city is $6.9\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$175$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${6.9\%} \times {\$175} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $6.9\%$ is equivalent to $6.9 \div 100$ $6.9 \div 100 = 0.069$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.069$ $\times$ $$175$ = $$12.08$ You would pay $$12.08$ in sales tax.